https://www.transfermarkt.de/mahdavi...ew/news/381714
Free Translation:
HSV icon in TM interview
Mahdavikia on legendary team outings & Juve: "I was so pumped up with adrenalin"
There is no doubt that an HSV legend is someone who was given his own fan shout by the crowd at the Volksparkstadion, who is 18th in the club's internal record players' ranking with 263 appearances and who played for the "Rothosen" for eight years. Those attributes apply exactly to Mehdi Mahdavikia. Or in other words: "Meeeeeeehdi".
Sometimes all football fans need is a few sentences from commentators to evoke memories from the past, to revive old emotions and bring moments of happiness to the mind's eye. In Mehdi Mahdavikia's case, one sequence is probably enough. Marcel Ketelaer is able to break through on the left wing, sprints with the ball to the corner flag, then passes into the back of the Turin defence'... The long-time right winger sums up the rest as follows: "An absolutely awesome goal, the Volkspark was shaking afterwards," he literally blurts out in an interview with Transfermarkt. By "absolutely awesome goal" he means his interim 2:3 in the match against Juventus Turin on the first matchday in the group phase of the 2000/2001 Champions League season. Mahdavikia's status with HSV fans changed on 13 September 2000. The Iranian winger contributed one goal and two assists to the surprising 4-4 draw against the Italian top club, which was still celebrated many years later.
The already popular professional became a legend on that Wednesday night. "For the first few weeks after that, it felt like every other person on the street approached me and asked for an autograph or a photo. When I think about that and especially about the atmosphere in the stadium, I still get goose bumps. But I always made it clear to people that I wasn't solely responsible for the 4-4 draw, but that we fought for it as a team. As a team: By that I mean us players down on the field and the fans in the stands," the now 43-year-old makes it unmistakably clear.
HSV icon Mahdavikia on extreme tension, botched jersey swap & Mallorca experiences
The match against the Bianconeri was the first game after Hamburg's return to the top flight. For years, HSV supporters had to wait for such highlights in European club football. Accordingly, the pressure and euphoria were great, as Mahdavikia remembers. "I mean that things were going well in the training sessions before the match and also got louder in the dressing room. We were all extremely tense, but totally motivated and fired up for Juventus. Especially as we had the feeling that only very few people around us believed in a surprise. So when we walked in for the anthem, I was so pumped up with adrenaline, I would have loved to go for it."
Mahdavikia continues: "I have to be honest: I couldn't really feel that much joy after the final whistle because the victory against the superior Juventus was so close. You have to imagine: We small HSV, with normal players, meet stars like Zidane, van der Sar, Del Piero, Inzaghi - that was already outstanding". With such a collection of stars, the question naturally arises: where is the shirt from the jersey swap hanging today? Mahdavikia stunned with his answer: "I didn't swap shirts. I was so pissed off, I wanted my peace. I remember how Zidane walked past me, but I was sitting on the floor and he swapped shirts with Stig Töfting instead," the former right-winger says with a laugh.
According to Mahdavikia, there was a lot of laughter in the dressing room during the eight years he was under contract with the former Bundesliga dinosaur. Cohesion and a good atmosphere were the hallmarks of each HSV team. "All those years, there were different types of players in the squad, but they were all united by the fact that their character was impeccable. Whether it was Bernd Hollerbach, Nico-Jan Hoogma or Sergej Barbarez, they tore themselves apart for the team on and off the pitch. David Jarolim or Tomas Ujfalusi always played to the hilt and had a power that would have been enough for 180 minutes," said the 43-year-old, who remembers the team trips at the end of the season with amusement.
"They were legendary. I can still remember the days in Mallorca very well because I was the only one who was halfway sober. Of course, we were out and about with sunglasses and Mallorca T-shirts. We simply told the people who recognised us that they were confusing us and that we weren't HSV players. I think as a professional footballer you also need a weekend where you can let off all the pressure of the season and don't have to concentrate on anything," says the ex-professional.
Mahdavikia's credo during his playing days was always: "If you can party, you can also work." 57 assists and 34 goals in 263 games were the proof. The then Iranian international always performed and was mostly a regular under various coaches, although there were also critical phases. "Both Frank Pagelsdorf and Kurt Jara have done HSV good. Pagelsdorf is a very passionate, emotional coach who has his heart in the right place. When we had worries or problems, we could always come to him. Jara, on the other hand, was very reserved and cool, but still led us to success with his style of play," says the Tehran-born former player.
The situation changed under Thomas Doll: crowd favourite Mahdavikia found himself on the bench at times. Some Hamburg media reportedly tried to pick on the relationship between Doll and Mahdavikia. "The early days with Thomas Doll were not easy. He was of the opinion that there was no place for me in the team. The press then tried to convince me of interviews in which I was supposed to criticise the coach subliminally. But I am a person who, if I have problems with someone, clarifies them directly and personally. Besides, the best answer is the one you show on the pitch - and not through the press," Mahdavikia says.
Mahdavikia astonished by Schalke - dream of Iranian talent for HSV
"When I read what goes on at Schalke, for example, I can only grab my head. In the interviews, all the players are great at explaining why things are going badly, but on the pitch, no one is able to put it into practice. In the end, it's always the coach's fault? Sorry, that's too easy for me," stresses the 110-time Iranian international. The fact that "his club", as he calls Hamburger SV, did not manage to win promotion in the last two years is, in his opinion, due to incorrect squad planning.
The player can be as good as he wants. If he cannot mentally handle the pressure, then it will be difficult at HSV.
"With the force as a club and the whole environment, HSV is one of the biggest clubs in Germany, and of course this creates a certain expectation and pressure. Only I don't see a problem in that, but rather in the fact that they signed players who couldn't handle that pressure. The player can be as good as he wants. If he can't mentally handle the pressure, then it will be difficult at HSV. I believe, even though we are currently seeing a small period of weakness, that we will ultimately be promoted and that HSV will return to where it belongs - and that is in the Bundesliga," Mahdavikia believes.
At some point he would like to return to the German top flight as head coach himself. Under former HSV II head coach Steffen Weiß, Mahdavikia was allowed to gain his first experience in men's football in the 2018/2019 season. Until a possible return to the Bundesliga, however, the focus is on his academy, which was founded in Iran in 2015. More than 150 children currently take part in the training, especially children from financially weak homes.
"As a former national player, I want to give something back to the country. For many children, football is a chance for a better and carefree life. One of my biggest dreams would be if an Iranian talent were to play for Hamburger SV in the future," says Mahdavikia, who concludes by naming a central concern with regard to the fan landscape.
"We have to be careful that football does not move away from the grassroots. I remember the outcry when Borussia Dortmund signed Márcio Amoroso for 25.5 million euros in 2001. Nowadays, these are normal transfer fees, although they are no longer tangible for the normal football fan. Of course I'm in favour of paying top players and top performers well, but for the most part, even average Bundesliga players earn a lot of money. And in my opinion, there has to be a rethink about this in the future," Mahdavikia says.
Free Translation:
HSV icon in TM interview
Mahdavikia on legendary team outings & Juve: "I was so pumped up with adrenalin"
There is no doubt that an HSV legend is someone who was given his own fan shout by the crowd at the Volksparkstadion, who is 18th in the club's internal record players' ranking with 263 appearances and who played for the "Rothosen" for eight years. Those attributes apply exactly to Mehdi Mahdavikia. Or in other words: "Meeeeeeehdi".
Sometimes all football fans need is a few sentences from commentators to evoke memories from the past, to revive old emotions and bring moments of happiness to the mind's eye. In Mehdi Mahdavikia's case, one sequence is probably enough. Marcel Ketelaer is able to break through on the left wing, sprints with the ball to the corner flag, then passes into the back of the Turin defence'... The long-time right winger sums up the rest as follows: "An absolutely awesome goal, the Volkspark was shaking afterwards," he literally blurts out in an interview with Transfermarkt. By "absolutely awesome goal" he means his interim 2:3 in the match against Juventus Turin on the first matchday in the group phase of the 2000/2001 Champions League season. Mahdavikia's status with HSV fans changed on 13 September 2000. The Iranian winger contributed one goal and two assists to the surprising 4-4 draw against the Italian top club, which was still celebrated many years later.
The already popular professional became a legend on that Wednesday night. "For the first few weeks after that, it felt like every other person on the street approached me and asked for an autograph or a photo. When I think about that and especially about the atmosphere in the stadium, I still get goose bumps. But I always made it clear to people that I wasn't solely responsible for the 4-4 draw, but that we fought for it as a team. As a team: By that I mean us players down on the field and the fans in the stands," the now 43-year-old makes it unmistakably clear.
HSV icon Mahdavikia on extreme tension, botched jersey swap & Mallorca experiences
The match against the Bianconeri was the first game after Hamburg's return to the top flight. For years, HSV supporters had to wait for such highlights in European club football. Accordingly, the pressure and euphoria were great, as Mahdavikia remembers. "I mean that things were going well in the training sessions before the match and also got louder in the dressing room. We were all extremely tense, but totally motivated and fired up for Juventus. Especially as we had the feeling that only very few people around us believed in a surprise. So when we walked in for the anthem, I was so pumped up with adrenaline, I would have loved to go for it."
Mahdavikia continues: "I have to be honest: I couldn't really feel that much joy after the final whistle because the victory against the superior Juventus was so close. You have to imagine: We small HSV, with normal players, meet stars like Zidane, van der Sar, Del Piero, Inzaghi - that was already outstanding". With such a collection of stars, the question naturally arises: where is the shirt from the jersey swap hanging today? Mahdavikia stunned with his answer: "I didn't swap shirts. I was so pissed off, I wanted my peace. I remember how Zidane walked past me, but I was sitting on the floor and he swapped shirts with Stig Töfting instead," the former right-winger says with a laugh.
According to Mahdavikia, there was a lot of laughter in the dressing room during the eight years he was under contract with the former Bundesliga dinosaur. Cohesion and a good atmosphere were the hallmarks of each HSV team. "All those years, there were different types of players in the squad, but they were all united by the fact that their character was impeccable. Whether it was Bernd Hollerbach, Nico-Jan Hoogma or Sergej Barbarez, they tore themselves apart for the team on and off the pitch. David Jarolim or Tomas Ujfalusi always played to the hilt and had a power that would have been enough for 180 minutes," said the 43-year-old, who remembers the team trips at the end of the season with amusement.
"They were legendary. I can still remember the days in Mallorca very well because I was the only one who was halfway sober. Of course, we were out and about with sunglasses and Mallorca T-shirts. We simply told the people who recognised us that they were confusing us and that we weren't HSV players. I think as a professional footballer you also need a weekend where you can let off all the pressure of the season and don't have to concentrate on anything," says the ex-professional.
Mahdavikia's credo during his playing days was always: "If you can party, you can also work." 57 assists and 34 goals in 263 games were the proof. The then Iranian international always performed and was mostly a regular under various coaches, although there were also critical phases. "Both Frank Pagelsdorf and Kurt Jara have done HSV good. Pagelsdorf is a very passionate, emotional coach who has his heart in the right place. When we had worries or problems, we could always come to him. Jara, on the other hand, was very reserved and cool, but still led us to success with his style of play," says the Tehran-born former player.
The situation changed under Thomas Doll: crowd favourite Mahdavikia found himself on the bench at times. Some Hamburg media reportedly tried to pick on the relationship between Doll and Mahdavikia. "The early days with Thomas Doll were not easy. He was of the opinion that there was no place for me in the team. The press then tried to convince me of interviews in which I was supposed to criticise the coach subliminally. But I am a person who, if I have problems with someone, clarifies them directly and personally. Besides, the best answer is the one you show on the pitch - and not through the press," Mahdavikia says.
Mahdavikia astonished by Schalke - dream of Iranian talent for HSV
"When I read what goes on at Schalke, for example, I can only grab my head. In the interviews, all the players are great at explaining why things are going badly, but on the pitch, no one is able to put it into practice. In the end, it's always the coach's fault? Sorry, that's too easy for me," stresses the 110-time Iranian international. The fact that "his club", as he calls Hamburger SV, did not manage to win promotion in the last two years is, in his opinion, due to incorrect squad planning.
The player can be as good as he wants. If he cannot mentally handle the pressure, then it will be difficult at HSV.
"With the force as a club and the whole environment, HSV is one of the biggest clubs in Germany, and of course this creates a certain expectation and pressure. Only I don't see a problem in that, but rather in the fact that they signed players who couldn't handle that pressure. The player can be as good as he wants. If he can't mentally handle the pressure, then it will be difficult at HSV. I believe, even though we are currently seeing a small period of weakness, that we will ultimately be promoted and that HSV will return to where it belongs - and that is in the Bundesliga," Mahdavikia believes.
At some point he would like to return to the German top flight as head coach himself. Under former HSV II head coach Steffen Weiß, Mahdavikia was allowed to gain his first experience in men's football in the 2018/2019 season. Until a possible return to the Bundesliga, however, the focus is on his academy, which was founded in Iran in 2015. More than 150 children currently take part in the training, especially children from financially weak homes.
"As a former national player, I want to give something back to the country. For many children, football is a chance for a better and carefree life. One of my biggest dreams would be if an Iranian talent were to play for Hamburger SV in the future," says Mahdavikia, who concludes by naming a central concern with regard to the fan landscape.
"We have to be careful that football does not move away from the grassroots. I remember the outcry when Borussia Dortmund signed Márcio Amoroso for 25.5 million euros in 2001. Nowadays, these are normal transfer fees, although they are no longer tangible for the normal football fan. Of course I'm in favour of paying top players and top performers well, but for the most part, even average Bundesliga players earn a lot of money. And in my opinion, there has to be a rethink about this in the future," Mahdavikia says.
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